An Empire Changed
by Bladedhc
Summary: Wrathful eyes fall upon a corrupted and useless empire, and decide that change is needed.


The Imperial Capital was a beautiful place, when one walked into it they could see gleaming walls, hundreds of building and the splendor of the palace in the distance.

A young man walked through the gates and began a journey down the roads and streets of the capital, a pleasant and peaceful smile graced his face as he walked passed people of all kinds. He passed women, some blushing at his passing, he passed children, all playing and joyful, he passed men, all hard working and proud.

The young man smiled as he saw it all, taking in all there was to see.

The streets and vendors would be a sight for all to see when they were passed, filled with wares of all kinds, fruits, vegetables, velvets, silks and more were all offered to the young man, who politely refused.

As he passed the streets and markets the young man finally found what he was looking for.

The recruitment office where men signed on to join the military and fight for the good of the country they loved.

The young man approached and stood in line, waiting to be allowed to speak. It took quite some time, many men were refused and many had been waiting.

When it was the young mans turn he stepped forward and perfectly saluted. His handsome features and black hair were the first things many noticed about him.

"I would like to join the Imperial military." it was said with the same serene smile and good humor that had been on his face when he arrived in the capital.

"Take this form and bring it back when your finished kid"

The questions were simple and to the point, can you fight? Do you have any health issues? Where you loyal to the empire?

It was a difficult question for many men, not that they answered any differently on this paper.

The opulence, the happiness people saw when they entered the capital was all a lie.

The wonder of the capital was a mask to the evil within, the evil that had existed ever since Prime Minister Honest seized control, puppeting the child emperor, using his innocence to take what Honest wanted for himself.

The capital was a place filled with evil men and women, taking advantage of all they could. Feeding into the corruption and despair of this place.

No young man with a pleasant disposition would survive here, no young man with peace in his heart would make it in the capital as it was.

But as the young man turned in the finished paper, as he found a small tavern to spend the night in, knowing what the empire had become, he still smiled.

When he returned and his application had been accepted he was escorted and told the army he would march with, the general he would serve, the young man smiled, even when most would despair at the dishonor of serving a general that had been long since disgraced.

As the young man found he would be marched to the western territories to prove his worth, he smiled.

The young man did not smile because he felt at peace with what he was doing.

The young man did not smile because he worried about his life being taken by foreign men.

The young man smiled because he too wore a mask of lies, just like the capital.

The young man smiled because if he did not, all who walked in his path would avoid him.

The young man smiled because underneath the kindness he exuded, the handsomeness and the politeness there existed something more.

Under the young man's smile was rage, anger not at the injustice of the empire or the cruelty it exuded but at its stagnation, at its inefficiency.

It's Weakness.

The young man would show them efficiency, he would show them how to discard this weakness and he would change the empire, just as the revolutionaries and hopefuls of this place wanted.

Not because he thought it was wrong but because he thought it a display of human weakness in the face of an empires supremacy.

He would lead this empire just as he did his own kingdom, just as he should with this new opportunity at life.

The young man felt his first real smile emerge at the thought of a life he could make with his own two hands, a jagged evil smile, filled with Wrath.

"What was your name again kid?"

The young man smiled.

"My name is Bradley, sir"


End file.
